Germany international Max Meyer is a free agent after leaving Schalke last month.
Photograph: Bruno Kelly/Reuters

Crystal Palace are poised to win the race for Max Meyer after holding productive talks with the former Schalke midfielder.

Meyer has been a free agent since leaving Schalke at the end of last season and Palace are confident of completing a deal for the 22-year-old German, who has been linked with Arsenal, Liverpool and Marseille this summer.

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The arrival of Meyer, who is due to have a medical on Tuesday, would be a significant boost for Roy Hodgson as he looks to improve his squad before the new Premier League season. Capable of playing as a No 10 or in a deeper role, Meyer is regarded as one of the best young players to emerge in Germany in recent years and has been capped four times. He made his international debut in 2014.

However he fell out with the Schalke hierarchy after failing to agree a new contract last season. The Bundesliga club were unwilling to meet Meyer’s wage demands and banished him from training in April after his public criticism of Christian Heidel, the sporting director.

Meyer’s struggle to find a club has raised eyebrows given his talent. Yet various suitors have felt he is too expensive and that has enabled Palace to offer him a route into the Premier League. As long as there are no late complications, the south London club expect Meyer to become their second summer signing this week.

Palace completed a deal for Vicente Guaita at the start of July, signing the Spanish goalkeeper on a three-year deal from Getafe, and Hodgson is keen to make further additions before the transfer window shuts on 9 August. However a deal to sign West Ham’s Cheikhou Kouyaté, who is also a target for Porto, has stalled because of the midfielder’s wage demands.

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Manuel Pellegrini would rather sell Kouyaté than Pedro Obiang, who wants to return to Sampdoria, and West Ham have quoted Palace a fee of £9.5m plus £1.5m in add-ons for the 28-year-old. Yet while Hodgson wants to bring in players with Premier League experience, reports in Turkey have suggested Palace could switch their attention to Fenerbahce’s Josef de Souza if there is no progress with Kouyaté.

Palace will also target the loan market and retain an interest in Tammy Abraham. The 20-year-old Chelsea forward scored eight goals during his loan spell with Swansea City last season.